Anything More Than a Vacation
by PartyMashedPotatoes
Summary: It's that time of year again and all of the gifted youngsters are heading on their annual camping trip! Everything is fine until their plans are swayed and they're forced to make the most of it. Soon enough it all comes crashing down when they realize that they're not alone in the forest. Evil lies beneath the trees and they find themselves fighting for their lives. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! It's Angel! :) I'm finally writing again! This story is slight AU! I hope you love it! :)**

 **Chapter One.**

It was that time of year again. Everyone from the Xavier mansion was about to embark on a journey that would take them places completely unimaginable. It was the first week of the summer, and everyone was packing for their annual camping trip. Well, they were at least trying to. Not everything was going according to plan, but what more could be said for such a dysfunctional family? It wasn't out of the ordinary for a little chaos to be intertwined with their plans. It was the usual.

The sun was set to rise any minute now, and the kids were hurriedly getting ready to leave. Logan had demanded that each kid arrive outside at exactly 7:00 AM or else they would be left behind. More than a few of them thought that it was a pretty great offer, but Wolverine promised to punish anyone who stayed home. That's right, Danger Room sessions every day for the month of July if someone came outside at 7:01. He didn't play.

It was 6:55 and the kids were throwing their stuff into the back of 15 passenger van while Logan was counting heads. He saw most of them. _Kitty, Kurt, Evan, Sam, Ray, Amara, Bobby, Scott, Rogue, Rahne, Roberto, and Jubilee._ That made twelve and there were supposed to be fourteen. Jean was on a mission with Professor Xavier and that was a viable excuse to not make it, but where was Jamie?

Wolverine glanced down at his watch, two minutes till. _"He's not gonna make it,"_ Logan thought to himself, heading toward the back of the van to make sure everyone had efficiently placed their things in the trunk. Once he checked, he slammed the door shut, walking toward the driver's side door of their vehicle, looking down at his watch again. _30 seconds. 29, 28…_

"Wait!" Jamie exclaimed from the doorstep of the mansion, racing toward the older man. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Don't leave me, please!" Multiple ran toward the other side of the van, not even bothering to put his things in the trunk. He jumped into the back seat, tossing his backpack on the floorboard, and informing the entire team that he'd made it in time.

Logan smirked to himself as he got behind the wheel, relieved that no one had kept him waiting. He put the vehicle into reverse and pulled out of the driveway, unaware that he was heading for the adventure of a lifetime.

 _Three hours later._

It was then that they found themselves in the middle of an abandoned campground. Apparently the site had been unused for a couple of decades, but how was Wolverine supposed to know that? The kids had been complaining about going to the "same old place every single year," so Logan had decided to revisit a place from his past. He used to spend weeks at this campground back in the early nineties and he never imagined it closing down.

"Well, I guess we're going to have more of a nature experience than I thought," Ray commented, as they pulled into the vacant lot where people would formerly park.

"Aren't campsites supposed to have, like, other campers?" Kitty added, noticing the lack of human activity.

"I have to pee," Sam informed them, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Not until I do, man," Bobby said, already heading for the door.

"Are we at the right place?" Jamie asked, staring out his window.

"Everyone wait," Logan said, scanning the area as he put the car in park. He wasn't sure if this place would be considered safe. There were trees where people used to pitch their tents and the area that used to have picnic tables left no trace of what used to be. Nothing was recognizable.

"Stay here," Wolverine said, as he opened his door slowly. He wanted to investigate. As long as everything looked to be safe, there would be no reason why they couldn't stay. It seemed to be public property and the kids could use the adventure. They needed to really rough it for a while, it would toughen them up. No more porta-potties and water spouts, they'd have to create their own bathrooms and purify their own water. These survival skills were necessary.

Logan motioned for Scott to lock the van doors as he walked away from the group, taking a look around. If he were to guess, Wolverine would assume that this place hadn't been used in at least twenty years, and it had likely not been visited much since.

Bits of broken glass were scattered in the grass. They wouldn't be noticeable to a human, but Logan's eyesight was always working to his advantage. Upon sniffing the air, he didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. Trees, birds, plants, wildlife in general. Everything was as it should be.

Wolverine then returned to the van, motioning for everyone to exit. This would be the perfect place for them to camp. In years passed they would visit a popular NY campground, which would be filled with other campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Not this time. They were free to use their powers and be themselves, with the added bonus of learning basic survival skills. What could be better than that?

The kids collected their things and Logan briefed them on the new plan. He intended to lead them on a hike into the wilderness, aiding them in their search for a level, open space to put their tents. He instructed them on how to locate water sources and what to do in case of an animal attack. To his surprise, more of the children were concerned over not having bathrooms than they were over wild animal attacks. Go figure.

It took nearly 45 minutes to find the perfect spot for their tents. It was a small, open space between the trees, overlooking the edge of a cliff. A mixture of dirt and grass occupied the ground where the mutants laid their things, but they no longer cared. Both exhaustion and mosquitoes had overtaken them.

The sound of cascading water could be heard in the distance, though it was no distraction from the resonance of the birds chirping overhead. The trees provided spaces of shade throughout the forest, though the sun still found its way through, beams of light reaching the ground. That same light reflected off of each plant, causing them to glow radiantly in the most eye-catching display. It was beautiful.

Once everyone had set up their tents, Logan decided that it was time to get down to business. They had a lot to do before they could get to their usual camping-trip festivities.

"Well," Wolverine said, beginning to pace back and forth in front of his comrades. "I know this isn't what we had in mind for our usual 'vacation,' but I don't wanna hear any complaints. We're here now and we're staying. So here's the deal: I'm sending Scott along with Evan, Sam, Kurt, Jamie, and Roberto to go find some water. Meanwhile, I want Ray, Kitty, Rahne, and Bobby to go find firewood. Rogue, Amara, and Jubilee can stay here and help me set up our defenses against animals."

Logan reached into a back pack, pulling out a few communication devices. "Scott, you're the leader of team Alpha." Wolverine tossed him a communicator.

"I thought we were supposed to leave these at home," Scott argued. Every year, this camping trip was a break from all of the X-Men stuff. It was intended to be a way to have fun. Professor Xavier had always requested that they leave their uniforms and communicators at home so that they could just enjoy being kids. If there was an emergency, Professor X would find a way to reach them. In all honesty, Scott appreciated the time off, and he didn't really want to turn this into anything more than a vacation.

"We are," Wolverine said, his tone low, sounding slightly annoyed as it coincided with more of a growl. "But I had a feeling we would be needing them and we do. The last thing I need is for one of you kids to get lost somewhere in the woods, where I'd have to come lookin' for ya. At least this way we have assurance. Everyone will be safe and if you need me, I'm just one call away."

"Isn't that, like, exactly the solution to our problems though? We don't need communication devices. We have cell phones," Kitty chimed in.

"You would think so Half Pint, but you're sadly mistaken. In case you haven't noticed, we don't get cell reception here. It's better this way." Logan tossed a communicator to Ray. "Berzerker, I'm putting you in charge of team Beta."

"I think _I_ should be in charge of team Beta," Bobby insisted, stepping away from the tree he'd been leaning against. "I'm more of a leader _and_ I've had more experience finding firewood."

"No," Wolverine replied plainly, before turning his attention to Rogue, Amara, and Jubilee. "Lastly, I'll be the leader of team Gamma." He held up his communicator. "We're going to set up camp and be on call in case any of the other teams need us."

"But our tents are already up." Jubilee gestured to the few tents that they'd put together only moments ago.

"Yeah, but we have to secure our food and stuff from bears, right?" Sam reminded her.

"Exactly," Wolverine responded, proud that Cannonball already knew a bit about this form of survival. "Now, remember where we are. This is where animal's live; respect their territory. When you walk, make lots of noise so that they'll know you're here. Stay away from snakes and look out for bear tracks. If you see an animal, _don't run._ Use your powers if you have to and _be safe._ "

"Fine," the kids replied in unison, sounding less than enthusiastic about their change of plans. Everyone would've preferred an actual campsite.

A couple of minutes later they dispersed, two of the teams heading in opposite directions while the other one stayed put. Logan could already tell that this was going to be the most difficult camping trip yet; he had no idea how much harder it was about to get.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here ya go! :D Love to my readers. Also, in case you didn't know, bears eat animal carcasses. You may or may not need to know that for this chapter.**

 **Chapter Two.**

Sam whistled as he walked through the high grass in the woods, trying to make the most of their hike. It seemed to him that all of the others were bummed about their new opportunity at this nature experience. He didn't understand it. Back when he lived in Kentucky, Sam loved going camping with his brothers, deep in the woods. Back then it was the best, but being there with his team just wasn't the same. No one was happy about it and Sam found it more difficult to enjoy himself when they were all being sticks in the-

"Hey look!" Sam was pulled from his thoughts by the resonance of Jamie's voice. "Mud!"

Cannonball saw it, the dark brown, gooey mud that took up much of the area heading in a single direction. It was obvious what that meant: their destination was just down that pathway.

"Why are you telling us about the mud, Jamie? There's dirt everywhere, man," Evan said. Sam rolled his eyes. That son of a gun had spent _way_ too much time in the city.

"Because, Evan, dirt mixed with water makes mud. If we're close to mud, then we must be close to-"

"Water!" Jamie interrupted Roberto's science lesson, ready to get a move on. "And I hope that the water is clean! We need someplace to swim while we're here, it's too hot!"

Jamie hurriedly continued toward the sound of the rushing water, Scott following closely behind. "Come on guys, we have to fill up the canteens and get back to camp to purify the water. It's only gonna get hotter as it gets later, and the rest of the team is going to need to hydrate too."

"You mean it's going to get hotter than _this?"_ Evan asked, shaking his head. "Uh uh, I can't do this. We better be going home soon."

"Actually, your body has a coping mechanism when it comes to heat. It's almost the same as-"

"Shut up, Roberto! No one cares!" Jamie screamed, scaring away a flock of vultures.

Sam sighed, this was just too much. He turned around to see if Kurt was coming, noticing the latter's unusual silence. "Are you coming?" Cannonball asked his comrade.

Kurt looked around nervously, before making eye contact with Sam and nodding quickly as he fiddled with his tail. Cannonball waited for the elf to catch up. "Are you okay?"

"I've got a bad feeling about zis," Kurt said quietly, terror in his tone.

Sam chuckled, unsure of what else to say. "Uh, you'll be okay." He gave Kurt a pat on the back, reassuring him before continuing to walk with the rest of the team, Kurt following closely behind.

At first everything was fine. Most of them were grumpy, but they made it to the reservoir. A waterfall led down into a stream of glistening, beautiful water, which cascaded downward and crashed into humungous rocks, before falling into the endless stream, flowing in one direction continuously. The resonance could be defined as nothing less than a peaceful one, and it put into perspective, for Sam, what was truly important there. If his friends didn't get anything out of this experience, at least he would.

He stood at the edge of the water and took a deep breath of fresh air, closing his eyes for a second. Could it get any better than this?

"Vhy von't ze vultures leave?" Kurt asked, fear still occupying his voice.

Sam opened his eyes quickly, remembering something that had happened only moments ago. When Jamie had yelled at Roberto, he'd scared the vultures away. Vultures only stay in one place so that they can eat, and if they're eating then there must be a dead animal around. If there's a dead animal around, then… Oh no.

"Guys, we need to leave," Sam said quickly, raising his voice slightly in order to be heard by everyone.

"Why? We just got here, we haven't even gotten the water yet," Evan replied in confusion.

"We're not leaving." Scott shook his head. "We didn't hike all the way up here just to turn back now." Cyclops tossed a canteen to Cannonball. "Get some water and _then_ we can leave."

"We don't have time!" Sam was getting anxious. "Did you hear Kurt? There are vultures over there and-"

"They're just birds. They're not going to hurt you." Scott rolled his shade-covered eyes, leaning down to fill his container with water.

"Yes they vill!" Kurt said, trying to hide behind Sam.

Sam groaned in frustration. "Just listen to me! When an animal dies in the woods, vultures tend to eat it, but they're not the only ones who like that kind of thing. Other animals have to eat too. Just like-"

"A bear!" Roberto was pointing to where the vultures had just been. His face had lost most of its color and he looked terrified. It was undeniable, things were about to go from bad to worse.

Sam looked in the direction that Sunspot had been pointing, his eyes widening at the sight. There, not far from his team, was a ferocious, ginormous bear, standing up on his hind legs at the resonance of the Brazilian boy's voice.

Why hadn't they listened? Sam let his frustration mix in with his fear as he came up with a plan. First and foremost, he decided that if they made it out of this alive, he'd never speak to any of them again. Secondly, he decided that he didn't have time to come up with a plan. The bear had let out a fierce roar and they all knew that the next few seconds were vital. That bear was on his way over there.

"Uh, uhm. Don't run! Just stay calm. Remember what Wolverine taught you…" Scott was blanking. Years of training and fighting in the most crucial battles, yet here he was, unsure of how to protect anyone in his team. He stepped in front of them, trying not to be afraid. He couldn't breathe for a second and he couldn't think, but then it was like the world stopped spinning, and it dawned on him what he could do. They weren't hopeless, they had the greatest advantages. He took his glasses off.

For a second it was hard to see and he couldn't tell if he was hitting his intended target. Within a moment's notice, things were clear again, the red beams pushing through his eyes and entering the world with the purpose of destruction. He prayed he was at least scaring the bear.

Cyclops only knew one thing for sure, he'd cut a tree in half. He had yet to see the bear, and he couldn't check on his teammates without putting his glasses back on. This was all or nothing.

Scott's plan ignited an idea in Sam and he knew exactly what they needed to do. He looked around at his team, only seconds had gone by but everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Scott continued to blast his eye-lasers around the forest. Jamie, despite the commands not to, had taken off running. Kurt had resulted to crying uncontrollably in complete and utter terror, screaming that he was too young to die. Roberto was standing in shock, unable to move as he repeatedly stuttered "B-b-bear." The bear was chasing Jamie, and Spyke was chasing the bear.

Wait, what? The bear had bypassed Scott the moment the animal had seen Jamie running. Spyke had apparently discovered his courage when he'd noticed his friend was in danger. Sam was surprised, yet impressed, but it was time to get this over with.

"Kurt!" Sam yelled, grabbing Kurt's arm, and jerking him toward Roberto. Sam forced the two to make contact, before letting go and pointing to a nearby tree. "Tree branch. Poof," the calmer mutant commanded, watching as Kurt teleported safely into the treetop.

Two down, three to go.

Sam took off toward Evan and Jamie, realizing that the bear was far too close to the youngest mutant. If they were going to do anything, it would have to be now. Cannonball screamed, trying to distract the bear, but it wasn't working.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Scott yelled, extreme panic overtaking him. After hearing Sam scream, he thought that one of his comrades were hurt. He tried to run, closing his eyes to avoid harming anyone, though not taking the extra second to put his shades back on. He was afraid to waste time. His inability to see graced him with the inevitable. He tripped over a root and dropped his glasses far from his reach. This was getting bad. "Just hang on!" Scott said, opening his eyes for short seconds at a time, trying to figure out which way to go.

It was then that it happened. Scott opened his eyes and made the mistake of looking upward when he heard Kurt's voice coming from a tree. He sliced the tree limb in half on accident, sending his friends into a plummet toward the ground. "Nightcrawler! Teleport!" Scott tried to yell quickly, guilt and despair rising within him. This couldn't have gotten any worse, and yet it had somehow found a way to.

 _Poof._

The action that had saved both Kurt and Roberto had also endangered someone else. Evan was just about to spike the bear when it happened. All of a sudden, Nightcrawler and Sunspot appeared directly in front of Spyke, causing him to run into them at full speed, knocking all three of them to the ground.

Sam was running out of ideas, so he went on adrenaline. He was the last hope. The bear roared once more, and fear captured the minds of everyone around them. Sam didn't stop. Just as the bear was about to make contact with Jamie, Sam cannonballed. Keeping his hands out in front of him, he used all of his force to knock Jamie out of the way, creating multiples.

"Jamie, _run,"_ Sam commanded to all six of the new copies, praying that the original would get away in time. The bear was confused for a moment, but started chasing one of the running Jamies. Sam held his breath.

A few seconds passed and soon enough the bear was out of sight. One of the multiples dissipated and suddenly another one came out from behind a tree. "I guess we made it," the real Jamie said, scratching the back of his neck nervously, clearly shaken up.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott inquired, kneeling to the ground, running his hands through the grass in search for his glasses.

"I would've been fine if Kurt hadn't tripped me," Evan answered angrily, brushing dirt off himself.

"I didn't mean to! It vas Scott who destroyed ze branch I vas on!"

"B-B-Bear," Roberto was still mumbling, though the bear was already long gone.

"I didn't mean to strike the branch, okay? I was trying to see," Scott stated in defense, at last finding his glasses and sliding them over his eyes. He stood up and faced his teammates. "Now, injuries?"

"Nah, man," Evan replied, throwing his hands up passively.

"I landed on my tail," Kurt complained.

"Substantial?" Scott asked.

"Not really," Kurt answered, fiddling with the tip of it which appeared to be in its usual condition.

"Sam?"

Sam gave two thumbs up in response.

"Roberto?" Scott waited a moment, but Roberto continued to quietly mumble about the bear. "Roberto!" Scott was louder this time, breaking the younger mutant's trance.

"Huh?" Roberto seemed confused.

"We're safe now. Are you okay?" Scott asked.

Roberto gulped and nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yes, of course. I wasn't even worried." A fake smile ensued.

"And Jamie," Scott said finally, before realizing that the youngest mutant had, in fact, sustained mild injuries. The leader walked over to his harmed comrade, kneeling next to him to evaluate the wound, a concerned expression on his face.

Jamie had already been examining the gash on the outside of his own right forearm. The wound was likely a result of the final fall, when Cannonball had pushed Multiple to the ground. Still, it looked bad, bruised and bleeding with dirt added into the mix.

"Man, oh man," an unrecognizable male voice rang from inside the forest, a bit of country twang intertwined with cheerfulness. "Isn't it a nice day today?"

The gathered X-Men raised their eyebrows, all except for Kurt who immediately tapped his holo-watch to transform into a human. They all scanned the area around them to see who was there.

At last a tall, Caucasian male immerged from deeper in the forest. He had to be around 25, with short, black hair and kind, blue eyes. His muscular build was no distraction from his gentle approach. A look of surprise overcame him at the sight of the group.

"Well, if it isn't more campers visiting the old site!" He sounded rather excited at first, but then he noticed Jamie's arm. "What happened here?" The man came closer to the team, trying to get a better look.

Scott eyed the man intently, unsure of whether they should trust him or not. What if he had witnessed their escapade? What if he saw them using their powers, and was only pretending to have just arrived? Cyclops was on the fence.

"There was a bear!" Jamie informed him. "He didn't maul me, but my friend pushed me out of the way to save my life." The youngest mutant gestured to Sam.

"And that worked? The bear just left after he pushed you?" The guy questioned.

"Yes," Scott answered, a little too quickly. "But only because I was throwing sticks at him, which scared him away."

"Oh." The man seemed satisfied with the explanation. "Well anyway, my name is Christopher and luckily, for you, I've had my fair share of experience with these kinda situations!"

Chris slid the backpack off his shoulder and retrieved what appeared to be a first aid kit.

Cyclops looked at Jamie's arm again. It was still bleeding and he didn't want to run the risk of infection, but he had the intuition that maybe they should get back to camp and let Wolverine take care of it. They didn't know this guy, and there's no telling what he could be up to. After all, it was an abandoned, overgrown campground which hadn't been touched in decades. What business would someone have there, especially all alone?

"Let me see… Aha!" Christopher grasped some form of sterile gauze and a bandage, before squatting next to Jamie to get a better look at his injury. He had name-brand materials, so Scott decided that it would be okay to trust him for at least the next 30 seconds. Unless the grocery-store first aid kits were working against them, they should be fine. "Does it hurt?" Chris asked.

"Not yet, but we learned about adrenaline in science class last year. You know, if adrenaline is rushing it's harder to feel pain. It's all a part of that 'Fight or Flight' response," Jamie explained.

Christopher laughed. "Isn't that great? Hopefully this won't hurt too much either then." He used the sterile gauze to clean the gash, and Jamie winced slightly in response. "Just a little sting," he added, before beginning to wrap the bandage around Multiple's arm.

"Do you live out here?" Roberto asked, appearing to be much calmer since the bear had left.

"A couple of miles east from here, yeah," Christopher said, his accent pulling through. "My grandpa had a cabin in the woods, and when he died he left it to me. We used to spend every summer there, but after he passed, I missed him too much. I just had to move here."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Roberto responded.

"It's alright." Chris smiled. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to live here in nature. Plus, those we love are never truly gone."

Roberto nodded.

"Enough about me, what are y'all's names?"

"I'm Scott," Cyclops answered, crossing his arms as Christopher finished bandaging Multiple's arm. "This is Jamie, Roberto, Kurt, Sam, and Evan."

"What a diverse set of names. I like it! Where y'all from?"

"We're from Long Island," Scott said, trying to speak before any of the other kids could have the opportunity to say too much. "We're only here for a camping trip."

"How can you live out here? It hasn't even been a day and I'm literally about to lose my mind," Evan stated.

Christopher chuckled. "I like it here. Where are you guys camping at?"

"You ask 'Where' as if we can describe to you where we set up at, like there aren't just a bunch of trees everywhere." Evan had a bit of attitude in his tone.

"It's not far from here, and we better get going," Scott answered, glancing at everyone to make sure they were all okay and ready to go. "It was nice to meet you."

"Well, I'll come with you! I know this forest like the back of my hand, and I know exactly how to handle a bear attack, in case you run into one again."

"That sounds great!" Roberto replied before Scott could say anything.

Great, that was all they needed: a stranger popping up throughout the forest and knowing where they stay. The world had yet to learn about mutants and they came _way_ too close to finding out that day. What else could go wrong?


End file.
